Meal replacement shakes for Type 1s

I am curious if Me replacement shakes are an option for Type 1s. I have a hard time eating lunch when I'm not hungry and think that shakes might work. If they are an option, what should I look for in a shake? When brand is best for diabetics? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Well, to me it sounds like you haven't had the chance yet to speak with a dietitian associated with a diabetes clinic. It's probably a good thing to do. I went because my doc made me go, but I am glad I did.What you eat is all based on the nutrition label, and the dietitian will show you how to do that. It is much easier than you may think.So yes, you can have that shake, but you need to get the specifics yourself.

I was diagnosed last June and saw a dietitian while in the hospital and a few times after…she didn't teach me anything that I didn't already know…I see my doctor later this month and will see what he has to say before I make any decisions. I just wanted to know what the thoughts about the shakes were…

Once again, the carb and sugars make the difference. When I calculate the insulin I need to take, the formula is carbohydrate + sugar - fibre / grams of carb per unit of insulin. So if the information about the ideal protein chocolate shake is correct (from myfitnesspal.com via a google search) is correct, my formula would work out to 4 carb + 0 sugar - 3 grams fibre / 12 g/unit = 0.1 unit (round to the nearest tenth) per carton of ideal protein. I'd basically need 12 of these to take one unit.

The problem I would worry about here is having a liver dump because I ate so little. It's not the shake you need to worry about in this situation, but your body's defense against starvation. I'm no expert on the whole liver dump thing, as it's something I would seldom experience, so I would ask the group to provide some more information on the likeliness and the overall consequences of this.

As you’ve probably guessed from the answers so far, we don’t put too much faith in shakes. At one time I did use them temporarily, but being T2, I didn’t have to deal with all the complications you will. Protein shakes come in many forms – whey, soy, casein, goat’s milk, and egg white – and all have different effects on the body and are used for different desired results. None are complete nutrition.I found that if I haven’t eaten, even half one of these shakes will spike me abnormally – even the low carb/sugar ones – and of course there is the risk of getting too much protein. A handful of unsalted nuts typically would fill the void better for me with little to no spike. Unfortunately, there is no “workaround” for diabetics.

I agree with wraith and Joyce here. I know from the experience of my girlfriend that some Glucerna shakes have really spiked her. She had been given those shakes to drink, to help her heal from a surgery.

I looked it up for her and found that it is indeed supposed to help healing from surgical proceedures, but to drink that shake put her Blood Glucose (BG) levels into the mid to high 200s (sorry Lynn, just reporting what she said happened), which concerrned her enough to ask the Dr to discontinue those for her.

It is better to eat a little something low carb for lunch rather than not. Perhaps a protein. Don't want you to go into hypo. There are protein bars out there you could eat as well, but then you'd need to look at the ingredient list and the nutritional info listed on the bar, as some of those bars are little more than candy bars hyped up with protein.

If you have access to a Registered Dietician (RD), perhaps you could get their views on the shake versus the protein bar and get some suggestions from the RD which might be a brand for which to look. .